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It was monthly 5k time again and we went out to do the Pumpkinman 5k. This is a race by BBSC Endurance. These are fun races for a variety of reasons, You get to choose the charity your money goes to, and there are multiple combinations of events you can do: Tri, Duoatholon, half marathon and more. We signed up for the 5k, and it was a good choice for me. Not ready for anything bigger at this time.

You may remember that in my last race blog, I told you about a very inspirational lady who was really working hard to do these events. She was back at this event and told me she took 40 minutes off her time that night! It is worth going back to read about her! She looked great on this 5k and didn’t even have a rest chair along with her. If that is not inspiring, I do not know what is!

So we started the race and it was pretty uneventful. I have gotten to know just how I will feel in each of the 3 miles on a course and that is a good thing for measuring progress.

The race was in Boulder City, Nevada. That is the town where all the workers who built the dam lived during it’s construction. It has no gambling in it as there was a fear the men would lose all their hard earned money if there were gambling. As we left Wilber Square in Boulder City, we were instantly in a quiet residential neighborhood right on the border of the desert. You would have no idea you were anywhere NEAR Las Vegas by this quiet little town. Old fashioned sprinklers quietly watered nicely manicured lawns surrounding cute bungalows.

As I reached the turn around I felt like I was doing pretty well. The next mile would be a steady uphill and I worked hard as I slowly pushed up the hill. Suddenly I felt a pat on the back and two men passed me running with a smile and a thumbs up. They were wearing Raw Fitness t-shirts! It is great to think how much young people support people who are in far less condition than are they and encourage us to fight on. I cannot even tell you how many “atta girls”, and “you’re almost theres” I got from people as they ran past me. I found that the encouragement prevented me even wanting to check the Map My Fitness app for my progress. I was moving and I was working and it felt good!

I did at last cross the finish line a midst cheers and a few laughs! I was going slow enough for the crowd along the finish strip to see my shirt, which read “EVERYTHING HURTS AND I’M DYING!

As we left the finish line and walked up to have a bench and a cold bottle of water, we met Bonnie Perrish-Kell of Slowpoke Divas. We talked about women “of our age” moving and playing and adventuring. Her site is wonderful! Take a look at it!

After the race, my bum knee was pretty beat up and I found myself hobbling more than I had expected. But then, I guess that is why I am getting a new new one in April. Hot shower followed by ice and Alleve. A routine I am very used to for sure.

With My Finisher’s Medal From Pumpkinman 5k 2015!

I have a real long way to go. I have more work to do than I can even think about. But the good thing is that I only have to think about the small bits of work that build together to make the big chunks of work which culminate in the overall completed goal. And in the end, I have a healthier me with great memories getting there!

This week has been very hard on my back. For some reason last Saturday it just started hurting on the left lower portion. I took my usual Alleve and rested it. A few days later it felt a little better but the concentrated pain area had shifted to the right. I have stretched and tried to help it work its way out to no real success.

Back in 2004, my weight was about 70 pounds more than it is today. I was sedentary…working at a desk all day and going to law school classes at night. No exercise. My back was so problematic that I could hardly carry my books from my car to class. Trips across parking lots were as if I were a pioneer looking across the vast and open plane to the destination at the edge of the horizon. When I would go to the grocery store, I found myself looking long and hard at the little electric carts…..but for me, I felt that would be giving up.

2005 in Ireland

I graduated law school n 2006. By then I was not working and was studying for the bar. Again. Very sedentary and no core strength to think of. Small tasks were made huge as a result of poor fitness and a “bad” back. I could not walk far. I could not stand for long periods of time. I could not sit long. It was not a good time for me.

Fall of 2007, a friend of mine and I decided that a good way to be sure we stayed in touch would be to do a 5k walk every month. Most of them had a one mile element and that would be a starting point. So, we signed up for the 2007 Candlelighters walk for childhood cancer. The day of the walk, my back ACHED. I took some meds and…well…a bit too much. When we took off, I was hunched over and we were definitely going to only do the one mile. But we missed the 1/2 mile turn around and were over half way through the 5k before we realized it. At one point, I had to tell my friend to stop talking to em for a while because I just had to try to make it through the walk and was hurting too bad. We finished. It was ugly. And we were definitely last.

We signed up for another…and after that another. And more. And soon we even signed up for a 10k in the Valley of Fire. Finally I was moving and doing something besides getting closer to crippled. And I liked it.

Stacey and I circa 2007

I even began spin class! There were setbacks, and my knee ended up requiring surgery. See, I had added golf to the mix too and was doing an awful lot given the weight I was carrying. But days after the surgery was at the 2009 Fatboy 5k. I went and though I could not walk it, I was there while Stacey did. And I was excited to get the leg going and get moving again.

By this time I was walking 5 and 10ks, golfing, and never even looking at the electric cart at the grocery store. Then I started working at my current job, where some co-workers talked about Kayaking. I love the water and had been in the desert about 11 years by that time. So, I decided to give that a whirl and LOVED it.

Hoover Dam

Got my own kayak and absolutely enjoy every minute of a kayaking day. That added yet another activity in to help improve my health as well as my quality of life. As a result, I have met tons of people with whom I really enjoy hanging out. They all also did something else I never thought I would EVER want to do…..ROCK CLIMBING! So, I got a harness and some climbing shoes and started going to the indoor gym with them. It was really fun and so I started going regularly. It is good for balance and it is also a great time to visit and get some social time in for the week. I don’t climb a lot and really have stopped for now to get some more weight off. But I still go on the outdoor climbs so that I can hike and take pictures of my friends. It is so quiet out on the walls and peaceful. I love the time outside and the wonderful exhaustion that comes with a hard scramble and hike in and out. Today I find my weekends filled with hiking, biking, kayaking, golfing going to rock climbs or anything else that comes up. I bowl on a league for fun and I do CrossFit at CrossFit Max Effort in Las Vegas. I really have so much better a life than I did back when my back determined to limit me. I am writing this today because this week’s back pain reminded me how far this path has taken me. From looking at an electric scooter in the grocery store wondering if, at 45 my life had come to that, to eying Base Camp at Mount Everest at 51.